welch wrote:Much as I respect former VP Al Gore -- who did NOT claim to have invented the Internet -- he was not nearly as good as RB as King Alfred Morris.

That's my name: he is King Alfred.

Joking aside, Morris is a different RB than Larry Brown and John Riggins, who , otgherwise, are far and away thebestv Redskn RB's since I learned the names of the players (other than Little Eddie Lebaron) around 1955 or '56.

Brown had the quickest take-off I've ever seen...Redskin or other. In fact, Lombardi or Allen once timed the Redskins. Take note...no stop-watches and such for 40 and 100 yard dash until about 1970. Different game.

Interesting finding: Brown was way fastest over the first ten or twenty yards. Charley Taylor much faster over the 100.

I'm talking Larry Brown here because younger fans don't know him, other than NC43's avatar, but remember that the master of all avatars chose Brown for his.

Brown won the NFC rushing championship as a rookie for Vince Lombardi, Drafted as a blocking back, he never lost the technique and the ferocious blocking style. Lombardi, however, noticed that Brown was getting a late start on the snap. They tested his hearing...had never been done in his years at Kansas State (?? too late, and I'm too tired to look it up). Found that Brown was deaf in one ear.

Lombardi put a hearing aid in Brown's helmet, and suddenly the Redskins had a serious running attack for the first time since a random season in the '50s and the great teams in the '40s. In 1970, the "Bill Austin interregnum", Brown led the NFC in rushing.

Larry Brown also happened to be a great receiver...especially screen passes and short passes he took and ran the ength of the field.Larry Brown got through the defensive line about the same time Builly Kilmer or Sonny Jurgenson took the snap. Full speed in one step. The Redskins line in 1970-73 was nothing like the Hogs. Ran lots of traps, never over-powered defenders, but just needed to engage defenders for a heartbeat abnd Brown was pas the first line and launching himself between linebackers.

Yes, "launching himself". Like John Riggins, Brown was just as likely to turn towrd a defender and knock him down. Brwn had a way of exploding at at defender. Often the first guy missed. Like grabbing lightnig in your hand.

Still a perfect blocker: Brown pulled from the deep back and cut a cowboys corner defender in haf -- folded him like a piece of paper -- on a game-winning run by up-back Charlie Harraway in Dallas I, 1972. Harraway an a ten yard end-sweep untouched.

Brown was about 6 feet tall, and weight about 195 pounds. That doesn't tell the story: he hit with a crack. Speed times mass...not just slow-moving mass.

Riggins was fast-moving mass...a high-school sprint champion who happened to weight 225 pounds with the Jets. He slowed some in his last years, and gained weight and power. Like Brown, Riggins often turned a corner and ran directloy at the nearest CB...after a few doses to Riggins, the CB's weren't as eager to dig in.

I've talked enough about Larry Brown...he tends to be forgotten because he gave up his knees getting the Redskins to SB 7. He ought to be remembered. As a Post columnist put it, "Without Brown, the Hall has an empty spot".

Morris runs differently than either Brown or Riggins. That's fine. He is King Alfed. He knows to follow his blockers and he knows just where to cut, and he's got a sense for the open field. He is The King.

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I remember him taking a screen pass 89 yds to the house against the jets.

Coach Mike Shanahan said Alfred Morris has improved as a receiver.
Morris caught just 11 passes last season despite playing 789 snaps. "He's elevated his game and he will be able to catch the ball and be a lot more instrumental in our passing game," Shanahan said. Morris will still cede third-down duties to Roy Helu, but it's safe to project a handful more receptions this time around. We know Alf is going to push for 300+ carries and get all the goal-line work in the Redskins' zone-blocking scheme. Despite a quiet camp, he's a clear-cut first-round fantasy pick.

I generally loathe drafting running backs who don’t catch passes, but I’d make an exception for Alfred Morris (and Stevan Ridley) this year. Everyone knows Morris’ unlikely story last season, when the sixth round draft pick entered behind the likes of Roy Helu, Evan Royster and even the immortal Tim Hightower on Washington’s depth chart, not only to secure the team’s No. 1 job from the start, but his 1,613 rushing yards were the third-most by a rookie in NFL history. Any concerns about Mike Shanahan messing with his backfield were immediately thrown out the window. Morris was impressive in doing so, racking up the third-most broken tackles in the NFL (57) while getting an elite 3.0 YPC after contact. In fact, more than 1,000 of his rushing yards last season came after contact. Morris got better as the year went on too, as he ran for 981 yards (5.10 YPC) with eight touchdowns over the final six games. Although he dropped only one pass (on 15 targets), Pro Football Focus did grade him as a poor receiver, but interestingly, PFF also graded Morris as the league’s second best blocking back (behind only Ahmad Bradshaw), so it’s not like he must come off the field during third downs (although it does appear we may see more Helu during these situations this season). It’s also entirely possible Morris improves his pass-catching skills as a sophomore, and he’s going to once again dominate early down work and get all the red-zone carries he can handle in a Shanahan system that’s returning all five members of its offensive line and with Robert Griffin at quarterback. At this point, Morris sure looks like a safer pick than Arian Foster.